Any excuse to make dinner a fun dinner, I will snap up. Cinco de Mayo is one of those excuses. It’s not really a “holiday” but we’ve taken to it in the US like we took to St. Patrick’s Day. We’ve made it all about cocktails and stereotypical Mexican foods.

This Cinco de Mayo, pull out everything brightly colored and set the table for tacos and margaritas!

Classic Margarita

Shake up the best margarita around with very simple ingredients and a fresh salty rim.

Find the recipe

Fajita Steak

A super easy way to make a dinner that is customizable for each member of the family. And it’s healthy and simple.

Click here

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The Super Bowl is literally our Super Bowl. This is the pinnacle of our football season - we love sports and we love football.

We are obsessed with football in our family.  I don’t know if my kids even realize how much more our family watches football than other families. For me, it began with college football.  My cousin played for the Huskies and I got to go to every game.  I loved everything about it – the noise, unity of everyone cheering for the same team, the bright colors, the cheer leaders, there is literally nothing I love more than a football game.  I had a purple and yellow stripe outfit that I wore to cheer on the team every week. It was hot. It was a sleeveless turtleneck number with matching stretch pants. Welcome to 1988.

I married a football fan and I’ve been lucky enough to pass that love onto my children.  We play fantasy football as a family, we watch games together, and we are at every Husky football game – still.  Which makes the Super Bowl our last hurrah as football season officially comes to an end. 

Planning the food for the Super Bowl is a paramount decision at our house.  Here’s five tips that I use every time, they may help you plan your own football party!

ONE

Buffalo Chicken is the best for football, but frying chicken is a hassle.  I have found that pulled chicken dressed in buffalo wing sauce is just as awesome and so much easier (also, can be made ahead!)

•   Buffalo Chicken Tots

•   Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

TWO

Make cocktails in a large batch or a punch.  No one wants to bartend all night.  I usually try to make something blue or green (Go Hawks!)

• Boozy Church Lady Punch

• Beast Mode Punch

Three

Crunchy snacks are mandatory for stressful moments.  We can only hope for a blow out (by us not them) but that’s never what happens and the stress of seeing your team going for it on fourth and one is real.

• Rosemary Roasted Cashews

• Ranch Popcorn

Four

Don’t forget dessert!

• Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

• Study Treats

FIVE

Clear off your coffee table – or bring in a low table – cover it with a piece of astroturf and load it up with all your food.  No one wants to walk away from the television – between the game and the ads, this is TVs biggest day! And the biggest day for our family. (also, the astroturf protects your table)

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My oldest turned 18 this past weekend. It’s a weird thing to have your child become an adult. So we had a lovely family dinner that was perfect for the person that he is and who he is becoming.

This child, at age 8, asked for a cocktail party for his birthday. He didn’t want any kids at the party - just our family and some family friends. He’s always been an old soul so a dinner party at one of our favorite places was just as “over the top” as he would tolerate.

I can’t leave well enough alone, so I made cookies, I made Lino cuts of Lars’s favorite things, and handed out favors. Sometimes the best parties are the simple ones that have just a few over the top things added to it.

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It’s baseball season! Still! Which is so exciting for us in Seattle. I know there are cities where your team is regularly in the post season, or you expect them to be in the post season - we are not that city. We are the city who always has so much hope in April. And then we turn to football in the fall, because there isn’t another local sport happening.

But not this year! This year, we are in the picture.

It is absolutely something to celebrate, so let’s celebrate! We are making up a few special things and filling in with grilled hot dogs and pretzel bites. It’s a ridiculously simple menu. And even if you don’t make what I’m making, do something! Celebrate! It’s been almost a quarter century since we’ve been here!

Homemade Cracker Jacks

These are the best! And they are actually really simple - which is the best part. It’s super impressive that you made your own. Also wasn’t that hard.

Feta Pretzel Dip

A simple dip with ingredients that are probably in your fridge right now! Plus, it’s great on almost anything you can dip.

Cracker Jack Cookies

Filled with popcorn, white chocolate, and peanuts - you won’t believe how good this combination is wrapped in a buttery cookie.

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Recently House Beautiful posted that our Grandma habits are making us healthier - mentally anyway. My mental health must be tip top. Not only did I take up needlepoint a few years ago, but last year I started playing bridge.

My bridge club is the most fun group of ladies. We have the best time together. It’s been great for me, because the other three have their kids in college. So I have been able to bounce parenting issues off of them. I highly recommend getting yourself a bridge group of moms with older kids. And then have a cocktail while you do it.

We play every week. Sometimes we play at the club and sometimes we play at one of our houses. We pretty much always play with a cocktail in hand. This week, supplied with Fresh Victor cocktail mixes, I made our drinks.

I am a snob when it comes to cocktail mixes.* I do not want one with sugar. I do not want one with anything fake. I do not want one that is just juice. I do not want one with food color. Fresh Victor fit the bill. Also, they taste good.

Fresh Victor has been SUPER GENEROUS and offered all of you a 20% discount when you order before July 31st. This means you are set for all of you spring and summer parties! Use code WNSFRESH20 when you order - click the link below! Stock up!

*I am always a snob.

This was taken after a cocktail….

Usually when we play we end up pouring a glass of white wine or making a ranch water. Mostly because none of us want to go to the effort to mix an ACTUAL cocktail. When you’re the dummy hand you could take the time. But do we actually want to? No. We’ve tried other short cuts before but I am a big fan of this short cut.

Our drinks were:

• Mexican Lime & Agave + Tequila + Squeeze of Lime

• Jalapeño Lime + Agave + Tequila + Squeeze of Lime + Ring of Jalapeño

• Cactus Pear + Pomegranate + Broken Shed Vodka + Squeeze of Lemon & Lime

• Grapefruit + Sea Salt + Broken Shed Vodka + Squeeze of Grapefruit

Why on earth did I choose Broken Shed Vodka, you ask? First, why not? Second, they sent it to me. Third, it’s really good.

Trying unique vodkas when we travel is really fun. Almost everywhere I’ve ever been has their own local brand of vodka. The good ones are made with fresh local water and distilled several times. We loved the vodka in Iceland and I was excited to try this New Zealand Vodka. It did not disappoint. Now New Zealand has moved up on our list of places to go!

Discount Code Details:

• For Online Store

• 20% off entire order

• No minimum purchase requirement

• Does not apply to wholesale

• One use per customer

• Can’t combine with other discounts

• Active from Apr 10 to Jul 31

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A signature cocktail is one of my favorite entertaining secrets.  It makes every party a little more fun – especially if you greet guests at the door with an ice cold drink!  You can also set up all of the ingredients and the recipe on a bar cart and let your guests make their own.

This year I used See’s Candies Candy Canes on the rim of my signature cocktail to add a little something extra.  Not only will it taste amazing, but the red and green stripes add a festive element. 

Peppermint Martini

2 ounces vanilla vodka

1 ounce peppermint schnapps

crushed candy cane

peppermint bitters

Pour a tablespoon of peppermint bitters into a low dish.  Pour crushed candy canes into a separate dish.  Dip martini glass in bitters first, then candy canes.  Shake off any excess. 

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake vodka and schnapps.  Strain into prepared glass and garnish with a candy cane. 

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This is it! It’s here! The best time of the year! The Fourth of July is literally the best time of the year ever. I will die on this hill. I cannot imagine anyone thinking any other time of the year is better than warm sunshine, beach days, rosé, and barbecues. At our house it calls for lots of people, lots of entertaining, and lots of food. Here are my ideas for what to serve on this fabulous holiday!

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Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I will be out of town eating brunch at a new restaurant in Palm Springs. In the event you haven’t planned to be out of town and in the sun, here are some ideas for your Mother’s Day brunch. I like when we celebrate first thing in the morning - usually, if we are in town, we go out somewhere for brunch. My favorite spots are near the market. Then we walk the market, buy some flowers, some fish for dinner, and have tiny doughnuts. It’s a delightful morning.

Scroll down for more ideas for shopping, dinner, and cocktails!

For Brunch

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for dinner

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More!

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bottoms up

Today is the day and my daughter is the most excited of anyone. We’re hosting a little movie night at our house tonight complete with all of the spooky foods, cocktails, and mocktails. Here’s a snapshot of what we’re doing!

For your drinking pleasure…

Corpse Reviver no.2 Cocktail

Super kid (and kid at heart) friendly

Halloween-ies with ketchup blood

It’s delish and a little elegant

Apple Cider Skull cakes

Spooky enough to eat a handful

Eyeball Meringues

For a Harry Potter binge

Butter Beer Cookies

For the kid’s at heart

Ice cream floats made with purple & green sodas

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Today is my birthday! I love my birthday. I’m a big fan of getting older - it’s so much better than the alternative. But it’s also fun! A day to celebrate me! With everyone I love. I’m so lucky to get to have a birthday.

In honor of my birthday, I’ve put together a bunch of my favorite things so you can celebrate along with me!

Very Cherry Birthday Punch

Literally the best champagne punch I have ever made. It’s my absolute favorite. My birthday cake every year is a Black Forest Cake - this goes perfectly with it!

Spaghetti with Clams

This is the best dinner ever. I order it every time it comes up on a menu - it’s almost all I ate when we were in Italy. I’m obsessed with clams - and in pasta with delicious olive oil - I’m extra obsessed.

Birthday Cake Cookies

These are actually perfect. They’re fluffy, filled with white chocolate chips, and covered in sprinkles. I cannot get enough of them! They’re perfect for those of us who don’t care about cake - but LOVE cookies.

Leave a comment if you decide to celebrate with me! I love to celebrate with all of my friends and you are some of my favorite friends.